Boro star fails to shine on biggest stage

BACK in 2019, Sontje Hansen told The Athletic that he wanted to be the best player in the world.

- By Craig Johns

But as his and Curacao’s World Cup comes to an end, familiar problems for the Middlesbrough man mean his opportunity on the biggest stage in football was not taken.

After struggling for game time in his first season at Boro, Hansen headed to the World Cup hoping to show what he can do on the big stage.

However, having started Curacao’s opening group stage game against Germany - which ended in a 7-1 defeat - he was axed at half-time of the game and then didn’t feature again.

Curacao were never expected to progress from their group, which also featured Ecuador and Ivory Coast. Their goalless draw with Ecuador in their second match was seen as a huge achievement for the minnows in their first appearance at the World Cup.

Hansen, who, as a Championship player for Boro, and someone who graduated from Ajax’s esteemed youth academy, was one of his country’s more high-profile players. But playing only 45 minutes in one game was hardly the tournament he'd have been hoping for.